The 17th Hunger Games
by TheUnicornCritic
Summary: Fanfiction about a girl from District 1. She volunteers in the 17th Hunger Games, but finds out it's not all fun and games.. This is a story in progress currently. I do not own the Hunger Games. The original story is by Suzanne Collins, I'm just writing fanfiction based on her stories.
1. Before the Reaping

I wake up to the sound of tapping. I open my eyes and find the first beams of sunlight cascading into my bedroom from my window. Also in the window, I see a familiar face. Outside is my best friend Corderoy, his nose red from the cold, tapping quietly at the glass. I roll my eyes at him and jump out of bed. I open the window for him to come in and tell him to go downstairs while I get ready.  
I go to my bathroom and look in the mirror to find that my platinum blonde hair is a wreck. It looked like a rat had slept in it. I went to go shower. The shower's water was warm and welcoming, and after five minutes I got out and dressed in simple jeans and a big blue sweater. I pulled my waist-length hair into a high pony-tail and set off to the kitchen, where Corderoy was waiting.  
As I went down the stairs, I realized that today was the reaping for the 17th Hunger Games. I wasn't nervous because ever since the first Hunger Games, the first districts, the careers, had trained their children to fight and volunteer for the tributes who were picked. I had been training since I was twelve, because my father wanted to be cautious. This year, however, I wanted to prove to myself and my father that I could win the Hunger Games. He always says that the Hunger Games are too harsh for a 16-year-old, but I'd already gone through worse...  
"Well you took long enough, Amethyst!" Corderoy accused sarcastically. I laughed at him and said, "Come on, you know I'm a girl, and girls take their time to get ready." Corderoy huffed in a joking way and ran to the door. He opened it and said, "Let's go, we don't have much time today, the reaping is in a few hours." I grabbed my jacket and we set off, closing the door slowly so we wouldn't wake the rest of the house.  
We walked through town slowly so we wouldn't draw attention to the few people who were out on the streets. Most of the people weren't opening their shops, as it was reaping day, but they were still managing their goods.  
The sun had just risen on District 1, but the street still appeared dark. Every day the sky was a pale blue, almost gray. It was usually very boring in District 1, but Corderoy made sure that he and I always had something interesting to do. Most days we went to the lake, like today, but other days we would run about the shops wreaking havoc on a new victim, and it was always such fun.  
Corderoy and I reached the jewelry shop and went down the alley beside it. The alley was narrow, so not many people could get back there. We pushed through the weeds at the back of the alley and found the familiar dirt path hiding just behind them. I set off at a run, challenging Corderoy to a race to our special spot right by the lake. Corderoy dashed in front of me, as he had always been the fastest out of us two. I ran furiously to catch up to him, but by the time I had slightly caught up with him, we were at the cave next to the lake. I mock-punched him and flopped down on the sand. I looked out across the vast lake, watching the blue-gray water shift and roll. Suddenly, I felt a bit nervous. I turned to Corderoy, and he could see that I was feeling concerned. "What is it, Amethyst?" He inquired with a quizzical look. I wasn't sure that I wanted to tell him I was nervous for the Hunger Games, but he would know I was hiding something. I sighed. " I was just thinking that I was slightly nervous about the games, and I know I've been training for this for about five years, but I still don't know. Should I still volunteer? I mean, I want to, especially if there's a 13-year-old that's picked, but, I just don't know." Corderoy looked at me, and I think I saw concern on his face. "Well, you've been planning to do this for two years now, so I think you should do it. I know you can win it. The hardest thing will be for me and your family, and probably you too, because you'll be gone for a while. We'll all miss you, but I think that you've really dedicated yourself to this, so I don't think you should give up now." I smiled at him and looked out at the lake again. Then, at a far edge of the lake came a creature, it had come out of the trees. It was quite large in size, and the shape looked familiar. Suddenly I knew what it was.  
"Corderoy," I said quietly, but with unmistakeable alarm, " There's a bear at the other side of the lake." Corderoy turned his head slowly and saw the bear. He jumped in fear. Corderoy had a very intense fear, a phobia, of bears. His father, cousin, and brother had been mauled by one on a hunting trip four years earlier, and only his father survived, but just barely. I saw Corderoy freeze up, and then I knew it would be no use to run, District 1 was about three quarters of a mile away, and the bear would outrun us easily. "Corderoy, get into the cave." I said calmly, not taking my eyes off of the bear, who had now seen us. Corderoy didn't move, he just sat there, paralized with fear. "Corderoy, please. Go into the cave." He still didn't move. I inched slowly to Corderoy. I picked him up and backed up to the cave, still not taking my gaze off of the bear. I took Corderoy to the back of the cave and told him to stay there and not come out until I told him to. He nodded slightly as tremors shook his body. I grabbed the spear that Corderoy and I sometimes used for fishing. The bear was now coming nearer towards the cave. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer. I snapped my eyes open, waiting for the bear to either leave or come nearer.  
The bear prowled around for a minute or two, then took notice of my spear. It let out an enormous roar and charged toward me. I took a defensive stance and eyed the bear. Its mouth was pulled back and its teeth looked sharp and menacing. The bear was getting closer and closer, and when it was about 10 feet in front of me, it went up on its hind legs. I could see that it was easily twelve feet tall. Fear ran through my veins and nearly paralized me like it did Corderoy. I snapped out of it and got my spear ready. The bear growled and ran forward. I barely doged his first strike, his claws grazing my shoulder. As I dodged its attack, I stabbed it just below its ribcage. The bear roared in pain and smacked me to the ground, just like I was a measly little fly. My spear was in my hand, the end of it splattered with blood. I was dazed and disoriented from the hit. The bear thundered his roar and stood on his hind legs, ready to give the death blow.


	2. Reaping

The end was near, I thought. The bear was coming down to deliver the blow that would kill me. I don't want to die, what was I thinking? I wouldn't ever be able to go into the Hunger Games. They would kill me right off the bat. Then I thought of my dad, Corduroy, my little sister, all the people who cared about me. I couldn't do this to them, especially not to my dad. I snapped out of my head, grabbed the spear, and thrust it into the beast's heart, just as the bear sunk its claws into my calf. I cried out in pain, but I kicked the bear off of me, which was no simple task, as the bear weighed a great deal. "Corduroy! Corduroy, it's safe now! You can come out, please help me," I called to Corduroy. I didn't think Corduroy would actually come out of the cave, so I started hoisting the bear off as best as I could. After a few minutes of struggling, I finally managed to get the bear off me.  
Then, I realized my leg was badly injured. "Corduroy, help! My leg!" I shouted. Then I saw Corduroy peek his head out, searching for any sign of the bear. He gasped at the brown heap that was the dead bear, and probably my bloody leg and hands. He ran over and, looking dazed, asked, "W-what do I do? What do you need me to do?" He was sweating and still shaking from seeing the bear. "Get my jacket and rip it up into shreds so I can stop the blood flow and cover the gashes please." I told him. He scrambled around getting my jacket, and his hands shook at he tore it into ragged pieces.  
I took the ragged pieces of cloth and wrapped them tightly around my damaged leg. I winced slightly and tied the cloth. I looked at my watch and groaned. "The reaping starts in an hour. How are we going to get back in time?" Corduroy picked up my ruined jacket and then hoisted me up too. He ran as fast as he could back to town. "I look like a mess, what am I going to tell my dad?" I asked him. "I'll figure that out when we get to the alley." He ran even faster then. When we got to the back of the alley, Corduroy set me down on the ground and told me to stay there. Like I could move anywhere else, I thought. He disappeared through the weeds and then came back in a few short minutes. He had a bucket of water with him. I thanked him and cleaned the blood off of my body with extra shreds from my jacket. "Corduroy, no matter what, do _not_ tell anyone about the bear. We can't let anyone know that we've been back out of the district borders, we would get in so much trouble. We've got to figure out a situation where I busted up my leg." I examined my leg, and found that the wound wasn't that deep at all, and it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a story. After I cleaned up, Corduroy helped me up so that we could walk into town without causing everyone to look at us. We went through town, and no one noticed that I had an injured leg. We stopped at the door to my house and said goodbye. I opened the door as quietly as possible and went up to my room, trying hard not to make a sound. I made it to my room without encountering anyone. I went into the shower again and washed the remaining blood down the drain. The water stung on my injury. I got out of the shower and rebandaged my leg with my first-aid kit I keep under my sink. The bandages wouldn't show under my dress that I was going to wear for the reaping. I put on my simple purple dress and redid my hair into its usual pony-tail. I heard a knocking at my door. "Amy! Amy! Daddy's making breakfast!" I heard my little sisters voice and smile. I ran to the door and opened it. My little sister, Amber, was standing there with her hair in pigtails. I scooped her up and kissed her cheek. She giggled and hugged my neck. I took my 6-year-old sister downstairs and set her down in the kitchen. I smelled ham and bacon, my dad was making breakfast. My dad turned and smiled at me. " How you doing Amy?" He asked. I smiled at him and said, "I'm fine. I'll go get Micah." I went upstairs to my brothers room. "Micah, breakfast is almost ready. Come on!" I yelled at my brother. A sleepy looking Micah opened the door. "Leave me alone, I was sleeping!" Micah glared at me. "Dad's got breakfast almost ready. You need to be up anyway. We're going to the reaping. " I told him. Micah continued to glare at me and stalked past, punching me in the process. I winced in pain. It wasn't that his punches were hard, but he had hit my injured leg. I didn't get that kid, he was rude and grumpy every single day, no matter what.  
I went downstairs into the warm kitchen. The ham and bacon were ready, so we all ate and chatted and had a good time. Well, Micah didn't have a good time, but he never does. Then the subject of the reaping came up. "So you're still going to volunteer today, hun?" My father asked. I nodded as I ate my bacon. I saw a wave of sadness go across his face, but just as suddenly as it came, it was replaced with a smile. "I'm proud of you, and I know you'll be back with us before we know it." I hoped so..

At 11 o' clock in the morning, all of District 1 had gathered in the city square. The children had been sorted into their age groups and gender, and I stood tall with the other 16-year-old girls. I saw my family standing behind ropes across the square. Then, from the city hall doors came a woman. Every year the Capital sends us a grotesque woman, one who has fake hair and a heavily made-up face. This year the woman, Glow, was wearing a tall ice blue wig that looked too heavy for her head to hold up. Her lips were completely white and her skin was dyed a very pale blue. Her dress was made up of what looked like diamonds. It shimmered in the light and hurt my eyes.  
"Hello, once again District 1! Welcome to the reaping of the 17th annual Hunger Games!" This announcement was met with little applause. She smiled awkwardly and continued. "Today I have brought to you a special video from the capital!" She played the video, the one they played at every reaping to remind the districts why they were there. "Now let's get on with picking the tributes, shall we?" She hobbled over to the bowl of girls names on her 6-inch heals. "Aaand, the female tribute from District 1 is," She paused and looked out into the crowd as she dug through the bowl of names and pulled one out. She unraveled the paper. The square was silent.  
"Celestite Orta," Glow said into the microphone. The name echoed around the square. A rather small girl from the 14-year-old section who had tears in her eyes walked up to the platform. "Are there any volunteers for Celestite?" Glow looked around, and I saw she had a tear in her eye. She obviously didn't like the thought of a small girl going to be slaughtered. "I volunteer!" I shouted. The little girl on the platform ran down and gave me a hug. She whispered, "Thank you." I patted her on the back and walked up to the platform, towards the ludicrous woman. "Well, we have a volunteer! What is your name, darling?" She asked. "My name is Amethyst Galena." Glow patted me awkwardly and tottered over to the boy's tribute bowl." And now for the boys!" She searched around for a piece of paper and settled on one. She picked it up and unfolded it. "Borax Helidor!" A rather muscley boy from the 17-year-olds came striding up to the stage. His blonde hair was plastered down to his head, and he kept fidgeting with it. "Are there any volunteers for Borax?" Glow said this with less emotion than when she said the girl's name. No one spoke up. "Well then, District 1, we have our tributes! Now shake hands you two." I stepped up to Borax, sizing him up. His muscles suggested that he'd be good at hand-to-hand combat, but slow and clumsy also. I'm guessing I have a pretty good shot at beating him. I shook his hand and then was led into the building to say goodbye to my family.


	3. The Train Ride The Capital

I was led to a small but cozy room. There were plush chairs all around, so I sank into one and waited. A few minutes later, my family came in. My little sister was crying. "Don't go Amy. Why did you volunteer? I will miss you sissy." I didn't say anything, but I held her in my arms. I pulled her back and wiped away her tears. "It's okay. Don't cry. I'll be back home soon." She nodded and stood back up. My dad put his hands on my shoulders and said, "Don't forget to come back to us. We believe in you." He pulled me into a hug. We both pulled away and I saw Micah was crying too. I hugged him and said, "I'll be back soon, don't worry guys. I promise." The peacekeepers then came and told them they had to leave. I waited a few more minutes. Corduroy came in and went straight into a hug. We both didn't know what to say. Then the peacekeepers came in. He kissed me on the cheek and was pulled out of the room.  
I was whisked out of the room and into the train.  
Inside the train it was pure luxury. There were plush chairs everywhere, fancy chandeliers, and it had an air of snobbish-ness. "Lunch will be served in an hour. In the mean time, would you like to see the other reaping tapes?" Glow asked. I nodded and sat down in front of the large television screen.  
We watched the tape from District 2. The girl, Alexandria, was 15 and looked much older than that. She was tall and quite muscular. The male, Axel, was a brute. He was 17 and had large muscles like the girl, and a mean, angry face. District 3 had rather small weak looking tributes. The girl was shaking and passed out on the stage. Her name was something like Elli, and about 13 years old. The boy was 14, but looked about 10 years old. Orion was his name. From District 4 came a girl the age of 16, and Ariel was her name. The male was 17, quite handsome, his name was Adrian. I kept note of him, he looked especially strong.  
From District 5 was nothing special. The girl was average, nothing to worry about. The boy was mumbling to himself, saying things I couldn't hear. He would be easy to dispose of. District 6 had a teary volunteer, she had taken the place of her younger sister. The boy tried to run, but peacekeepers stopped him and had to carry him away.  
District 7 had a 17-year-old female by the name of Juniper. When she was called, she was pushed up onto the stage. Everyone glared at her, and I wondered what she had done to make everyone despise her like that. The boy was called, his name was Pine. He was small, but he didn't look stupid. From District 8 was an average girl, but her family was yelling and calling out to her. She was crying and stumbling around. The boy was called and he ran up to the stage. He stumbled on the stairs, making a fool of himself.  
In District 9 the girl walked calmly up to the stage. She was 14, and looked brave for her age, and a bit cocky, too. There was another volunteer for the boys. The boy who got called was tiny, and I'm guessing the volunteer was his brother. From District 10 was a girl in ridiculous cowgirl boots and a hat to match. The boy was wearing the boots, but not the hat. He looked about 15 years old.  
The girl from District 11 was tall, lean, and very dark. She was pretty, but didn't look like much of a competitor. The male was incredibley handsome, tall, muscular, and very quiet. He was about my age and his name was William. Finally, District 12 had measley little tributes. They were small, and skinny, obviously under-fed.  
My competition was not going to be hard to beat. If I can defeat a fully-grown grizzly bear, then I'm absolutely sure I can defeat these people.

Glow called us to lunch. Borax and I sat down at the large table. Avoxes came in with platters of steaming food. Everything looked delicious, but the carrot soup looked especially yummy. I ate calmly, but Borax ate like an animal. I wondered why, because District 1 is far from a food shortage. Glow stared at him and finally said,"Child, what on earth are you doing?" Borax looked up from his lamb stew and gave Glow a menacing look. Glow looked offended and spoke, "Well, Borax, I was merely asking a question. Don't go giving me threatening looks for speaking." He rolled his eyes. Glow huffed and finished her roll. What was Borax's problem?

I went to my room. A giant bed took up most of the car. I put on warm pajamas and crawled into bed. I fell asleep quickly.  
I'm walking to the lake with Corduroy. We laugh and talk, but then a bear comes and tears him in two. It's my fault, I couldn't protect him. Now the bear is coming for me. I smell its awful breath, its teeth bloody and sharp. The bear snaps my head off, and I wake up screaming. A peacekeeper runs into my room, asking me what was wrong. "Just a nightmare." I lie back down, but I know I won't get back to sleep. I sigh and get up. I pull on a robe and go into the main car. A servant comes to check on me. I ask for hot chocolate and he goes and fetches it. I sit on the couch and think about my family. I wish I was at home in my own bed. I stop myself from thinking this. I must not think of home, only that I'll be back there soon, I just know it. I fall asleep, without dreaming of anything.


	4. Chariot Rides

I wake up hearing the television blaring and the tinkling of glass on glass. I sit up and wonder where I am. Then I remember, I fell asleep on the couch last night. I turn around to see the table, and there are two unfamiliar people there. There's a woman, tall and fit, with beach blonde hair cascading down past her shoulders. She was rather pretty, and was looking deep into the eyes of the unfamiliar man that was sitting across from her. The man was blonde and hair a cow lick hairstyle. He had stubble around his chin, and it made him look weasley. He was staring into the woman's eyes. Then I noticed a very cross looking Glow coming in to the room. "Are you two flirting again?" Glow asked with a hint of accusation in her voice. Both of the unfamiliar people snapped out of it and looked sheepishly at Glow. "Ah, Amethyst! Awake, are we? Breakfast will be served in 15 minutes, now go wash up." Glow turned her attention to me. Everyone stared as I left the car.  
I cleaned up and put on a light green blouse and regular pants. Then I went back out to the main car. "Amethyst, I would like you to meet your mentor, Sparkle." Glow said to me as I entered the car. What a name, I thought. Sparkle waved to me and smiled kindly. She gestured to the man and said, "This is Borax's mentor, Tyro." He waved but didn't have a smile on his face. I sat down at the table just as Borax and the servants came in. The servants set down plates of french toast, bacon, eggs, waffles, pancakes, rolls with cinnamon icing, and lots of other wonderful foods. I dug into the food, savoring the sweet taste of the rolls. "We will be arriving at the Capital later on today. We will be there in a few hours' time." Glow announced. Finally, we were almost there. I can't wait to see what the capital looks like in person.

"We're arriving! Amethyst, Borax, look out the windows!" I ran to the window to see what Glow was talking about. Tall silver buildings stood everywhere. At the train station we could see a crowd of brightly colored people in the distance. I started waving at the people as the train grew nearer to them. The next moments flew by in a blur. We stepped out of the train and I was dazed from the many lights and cameras and colors that were there. We were led to a car with blacked out windows, and we took a speedy ride to a building in which we were going to get make-up and body work done.  
"This way," A peacekeeper demanded. He led us down a hallway in the building. At the end of the hallway was a group of three women and another group of three men. The men were standing stoicly but the women were chattering and giggling. "This is your prep-team, Amethyst." The peacekeeper gestured to the three women. He said the same for Borax and gestured to the three males. "We'll take you upstairs to get you ready, dear." The middle woman told me. The next hour or two seemed to drag on forever. My prep-team was pulling every inch of body hair off of me. They even pulled off all of my eyebrows, which hurt tremendously. "Ow! Quit that!" I said angrily to them as the ripped off a section of my eyebrow. They tut-tutted and continued on without acknowledging me at all. Finally they left and I could lie down in peace. About 10 minutes later, a male stylist came in. I could tell by his stuck-up face that he was a spoiled Capital brat, and he didn't care about the slaughter of children. "My name is Venta. I'm here to make you look pretty. End of story. If you shut up and don't fidget, then this will go smoothly. I'm not here to be your mommy, so don't cry or I'll leave the room and I won't style you." He told me. I glared at him as he walked in a circle around me, examining me. "You're not especially pretty, are you? Average, nothing special. I'll see what I can do, but I don't think you'll ever have the ability to stun people with your looks." What was his problem? "If you don't shut up, then I'll do my own makeup and it'll be ten-thousand times better than yours, you rude little brat!" I said angrily to him. He looked shocked, like no one had ever spoken to him like that, but quickly regained his snob-like demeanor. He didn't say anything else to me for the rest of the day, except things like, "Raise your arms," or "Chin up," or things like that.  
Venta told me that my outfit was going to consist of lots of sparkles and diamonds. Great, that's EXACTLY what I wanted to wear... An hour before the chariots ceremony, Venta put me in my outfit. The base color of the dress was a very pale blue. The left side of the dress ended at my thigh, but the right side swooped down to the floor. It was strapless and it had small diamonds all over it, and it sparkled in the light. The dress truly was breathtaking, but I couldn't imagine myself wearing it.  
I put on the dress and my prep-team did my hair and light make-up. I walked into the room that Glow, Borax, and the mentors were in. Glow saw me and gasped. "Oh Amethyst! You look stunning!" I smile. I see Borax, he's wearing a pale blue suit and a giant diamond brooch. He looked kind of strange, it was like putting a big blonde gorilla in a suit.  
"It's nearly time for the chariots, you two will be led downstairs to the horses." Glow explained. Two peacekeepers took mine and Borax's arm and took us to the chariots. We came into the room with the horses. Our horses were pure white with diamond stutted head-pieces. I hopped onto the chariot and waited for the ceremony to start. I noticed that everyone was staring at me, and I glared at everyone who did, except the boy from 4. I smiled in his direction. I laughed silently at everyone elses's outfits. They all looked ridiculous, except a lucky few, like me and Adrian, and the male from 11. District 2 was dressed up as vikings, and Alexandria was wearing a bright red beard, which I thought looked hilarious. The male looked alright. District 3 was wearing a black body suit that had computer wires running all along it, which was okay looking.  
Adrian from District 4 wasn't wearing a shirt, so his golden torso was gleaming and beautiful. He was wearing shorts and had a trident. I noticed all of the girls looking his way, and I made a mental note to ally him first. The girl was acting like she was a mermaid that had gotten caught in his net. She looked ridiculous. From five were power-plant workers. They looked so boring.  
The District 6 male was dressed as a taxi, and the female was a girl from the city trying to catch a ride. What were the stylists thinking? It's awful. Juniper from 7 was dressed as an apple tree, and the male was an orchard worker. He was trying to stay as far away from her as possible. Once again I wondered what she had done to make people resent her.  
District 8 had peacekeeper outfits, which I really didn't get. District 9 was dressed as wheat, and I thought, how desperate are these stylists? Their outfits are really just sad.  
From 10, the female was a cow, I laughed out loud at that, and got some weird looks. The male was a cowboy that had a lasso. How sad can you get? But from 11, William looked quite nice, even though he was dressed as a lumberjack. The girl was just wearing overalls, I'm assuming that she was wearing District 11's working clothes.  
District 12's costumes were nothing special at all. They were just dressed as coal miners.  
The ceremony was about to start, and a peacekeeper was making sure everyone was on their chariots. Once everyone was on, my chariot started to move. I put on my best smile and waved to the enormous crowd. The crowd roared, I could barely hear the announcer saying the names. People threw flowers at me, and I caught one and held it up in my hand. Borax was just standing there, not waving, looking off into the distance. I didn't worry about him though, I needed to worry about myself. All the chariots came out and stopped in a half-circle at the end of the run way. A very young President Snow came out on the balcony above us to welcome us. "Greetings, people of the Capital, people of the districts! Welcome to the 17th annual Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" His announcement echoed through the large arena. It was met with thunderous applause. The president looked at me and smiled. His appearance resembled that of a snake, and a shiver ran down my spine...


	5. Training

After the chariots, Glow finds us and escorts us to the place we'll be staying at. Our apartment  
is on the first floor, because we're District 1. I open the door to the apartment and inside is a beautiful living room. The floor is plush carpet, and it's springy and soft. The apartment is a split-level, and the dining table is sitting on the upper level. Bright orange chairs surround the table. On the lower level are squashy armchairs that are colored purple and blue. I literally sink into one and close my eyes. "Would you like to see your rooms?" Glow asked Borax and me. I jumped out of the chair and followed Glow down a wide hallway. The first door on the left held my room. Glow opened the door and ushered me in. She then left to show Borax his room. I looked around the spacious room. The carpet was a light spring green and it seemed the whole room was focused around the theme of nature. The walls were a sky blue, the bed was large and had a blanket that looked like grass. There was a small remote on the bedside table, so I picked it up and pressed the first of four buttons on it. I noticed a window across from the bed change from the city street to a meadow. I clicked the second button and the screen changed to a field of flowers blowing in the wind. I kept the setting on this view and changed into comfortable clothes. Glow came in a few minutes later to tell me that training started tomorrow, and that I should get some rest. I climbed into the bed and fell asleep right away. No dreams haunted my sleep tonight.

The next thing I knew I was waking up and eating breakfast, then off to training we went. The training room was quite large, it could fit at least two or three large houses in it. On the walls were racks and rows upon rows of weapons. There were axes, bows and arrows, knives, spears, and even a trident stood among the many other blades. There were also a few stations where we could practice making a fire, camoflauge, and identifying different plants. In the far corner I also saw a pool, and I thought I should probably learn how to swim, just as a precaution. A woman of about 25 came forward and announced to us, "Welcome to your first day of training. You will have two more days of training and on the last day, you will present to the judges what you have learned and what you know. Also, I would like you to know, exposure to the elements is just as dangerous as a knife. Most of you will die of starvation and dehydration. I would suggest learning something like identifying plants." After her announcement we were allowed to go to the stations and handle the weapons. I went straight for the identifying plants station, since I knew nothing about plants then I might as well start. I wasn't very good at first at identifying the plants, but I practiced more and got better and better. I decided I was finished with that station and moved on. Then I realized, I should probably make allies. I bet all the girls already tried to win over Adrian, and I scanned the room for him. Sure enough, three girls were surrounding him over by the rack of tridents. I went over to the pool, which was close to where Adrian was standing. I changed into a swimsuit that the training people provided and got into the shallow end of the water. I paddled around, trying to do a simple stroke, and practicing floating on my back. Adrian took notice and came over. He jumped in the water, clothes and all. To my pleasure, the girls that were surrounding Adrian looked pouty and sultry, and it didn't look like they could swim. Adrian came up from under the water and smiled at me. He swam over to me, gliding through the water easily. Of course he knew how to swim, he was from District 4. "Can you teach me how to swim like you do?" I asked him. He laughed and said, "Sure, but it looked like you could swim fairly decently." I smiled crookedly and told him, "I can't swim like that at all." For the next few minutes he taught me a basic stroke, and once I had mastered that he took me out into the deeper end of the pool. "Now try to float." He said. For another few minutes I practice that, then I got tired of swimming and got out of the pool. I toweled off and changed back into my clothes.  
Now I thought I'd go over to the weapons and dummies. I grabbed a set of knives and a spear from the rack and stood twenty feet in front of a dummy. I took the spear and hurtled it through the air, aiming at the dummy. With a loud 'thunk' it hit the dummy just a tiny bit to the right of the center of the bullseye. I took the knives over to a dummy test where the dummies popped up and you had to hit them with accuracy and quickly. I hit every target in the center of the bullseye. I turned around to find that Adrian and the girl from District 2 staring at me. Adrian came up to me. "That was some nice throwing you did there. I could use someone like you to be an ally. What do you say?" He held out his hand. After a few moments I smiled and shook his hand. "Allies." The girls that were surrounding Adrian earlier saw the hand shake and I saw their faces grow red with anger and envy.  
Next I went to the fire-making station. I didn't know how to make a fire at all, but the man there helped me, and an hour later, I had created a decent fire. The woman from earlier came to announce that the training session for today was over. I went back to our apartment and went directly to my room. I sat there for a few hours, doing nothing but thinking of my family back home, and Corduroy. I heard someone knock at my door and I told them to come in. "Glow said it's time to eat dinner." Borax came in and told me. I stood up and followed him out the door and down the hallway to the dining room.  
Dinner was awkward, no one knew what to say. There were a few attempts to start up a conversation by Glow, but they died out quickly. I finished my pea soup and got up to go back to my room, but Sparkle stopped me. "I thought we could talk about strategy, in private" She said to me. I nodded and we went in to my room where we wouldn't be heard. "Did you make any allies today, or find anyone you'd like to ally with?" She asked me. I nodded and told her about the ally I made with Adrian. "Very good! You know what you're doing, allying a career, and an attractive one at that. You two will most definitely get lots of sponsors." I was glad I had gotten praise from my mentor. "Your should also consider the male and female from District 2, they look brutal. I would also suggest, when there are only eight left in the games, ditch your alliances. You don't want to end up with the last two tributes being you and your ally." She told me. I nodded and gestured for her to continue on. "Your first priority is usually water and food, possibly shelter. Since you're one of the careers, you'll most likely stay near the cornucopia." I listened with interest. "Are you any good with weapons?" She asked. I smiled and told her, "I can definitely use a weapon to its maximum potential." She grinned and said, "Excellent!" For the next hour or two we talked about battle strategies, game strategies, and ally strategies. I was very confident that I could win the games, and outsmart all of the other tributes. I was ready for the games to start.

The next day, Borax and I were led down to training again. Sparkle advised me to ally Alexandria and Axel, and possibly Ariel and William. I didn't know if I wanted to ally with Ariel or Alexandria, but Sparkle said it would help with my survival for a while. I saw Axel and Alexandria over by the weapon racks. Ariel was in the pool, swimming laps. I thought to myself, it's now or never, so I walked over to the tributes from District 2. I picked up an axe from the shelf of weapons and asked Alexandria, "You any good at throwing these?" She snatched the axe from my hands and threw it at a dummy thirty feet away. With a thunk, I saw that it had sunk into the bullseye of the dummy. I nodded in approval and went to the row of knives. I grabbed about six of them and stood about twenty-five feet away from a few dummies and threw the knives. They flew through the air and each one landed in the exact center of the dummies. I turned around to see a pleased looking Alexandria. "What do you say to an alliance with me, Axel, and pretty boy over there?" She nodded toward Adrian. I stuck out my hand and Alexandria grabbed my hand and shook it. "Are we looking to ally anyone else?" I asked her. She shrugged and said, "We asked William, but he wouldn't do it. It's too bad, he would've made an excellent addition to the careers." I nodded in agreement.  
Not much else happened in training. I went to a few stations that I hadn't been to yesterday, just for fun. I didn't see how knot tying would help that much. I also went over to a net that you could practice climbing on. I figured learning how to climb wouldn't hurt anything. After a few tries, I made it all the way to the top of the net. The training session ended and we were escorted back to our apartments. The only thing I did that night was eat and sleep. I was really tired, but I had no clue as to why...

"Get up, get up, get up! Today is your private training day!" I wake to the unpleasant noise of Glow shouting in my ear. I got up and went to my bathroom. I pressed the dials on the fancy shower and stepped in. A plethora of shampoos were available, just at the touch of a button. I picked a lavender-mint shampoo and the sweet smell of it filled my nose. I stepped out of the shower and went to eat breakfast. I sat down and began to eat. "Show the judges your strength, Amethyst. Show them what you know, and what you might have learned in training. I know you'll impress them."


	6. Interviews

As I was escorted down to the training area, I noticed that Borax was looking pale. He hadn't eaten much for breakfast, and he hadn't spoken all morning. I let Borax slip from my mind as we entered the elevators. I thought about my dad and wondered what he was doing right now..  
We arrived at a little sitting area where most of the tributes were already seated. I saw Adrian and the rest of my alliance sitting at a table to my right so I went to join them. Adrian welcomed me and gestured for me to take a seat next to him.  
"So when does this start?" I asked my group. All of them shrugged their shoulders. We sat in silence for a few minutes, then I realized that I had no clue what I was going to do in front of the judges. For the next few minutes I sat quietly and thought abut what I was going to do while the rest of the group chatted quietly. Suddenly, the doors burst open and in came Juniper and a peacekeeper furiously trying to keep hold of her.  
"Help!" She called desperately. I jumped up and ran over. I helped the startled peacekeeper hold her down to the floor. She resisted and I slammed her head back on to the floor with a little more force than I had intended. Juniper was knocked unconcious immediately. The peacekeeper thanked me for my help and shackled her to the wall. Another peacekeeper came in with the other tribute from seven, but calmly. The peacekeeper who had Juniper explained that she tried to get loose and ran away.  
"Stupid girl, she tried biting me. The little brat is weak, but she is persistant." Once again he thanked me for my help. I smiled sheepishly and went back to the table. The people in my group weren't very surprised at my helping the peacekeeper, but the rest of the tributes looked at me with disgust. I glared back at each one until they all looked away.  
"Borax Helidor! You're up first." Called a woman from a speaker. A door to my right opened and Borax crept forward. The doors shut immediately behind him. I turned my thoughts to what I was going to do for the judges.

After about 15 minutes, the woman called my name. I walked inside the doors and they shut in a second. Before me I saw an area identical to the training area I had been to yesterday, only smaller. I went to the knife throwing area and picked up several knives. I faced the dummies and focused on them. Then I threw. _Shink, shink, shink!_ Three knives hit their targets instantaneously. I then threw a spear at a very far target and it hit with a satisfying _thunk_. I used various weapons, hoping it was enough. I even used a bow and arrow and I was pretty good at it. Then I climbed the net with a few knives in a belt and threw them at the dummies. I hit every one perfectly. The judges looked pleased and they said I could leave. I thanked them and was escorted to my apartment by peacekeepers.  
For the rest of the day I waited and waited. I ate lunch with Glow and Sparkle, but they didn't say much. Finally at seven o'clock, the scores were going to be broadcasted. The hosts, Rory Battlesmith and Filo Flickerman, were chatting about the games and such. Then they said the scores. Borax was up first.  
"Borax Helidor, 17, District 1, with a score of 10." Said Filo. Everyone clapped and congratulated Borax on his high score. His mentor gave him a smile and a thumbs up. Next was myself. I could hardly wait to see..  
"Amethyst Galena, 16, District 1, with a score of 11." My face split into a grin. Sparkle gave me a big hug and congratulated me. I hoped my father was proud of me.  
Next was District Two. Axel and Alexandria both got a score of 10. Adrian got an 11 and Ariel a 9. Most of the other tributes got average scores, except for William from District 11. He got a 10. I went to bed, satisfied with myself, and fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.  
I woke up feeling groggy and tired. I stepped into my shower to wash away the sleep. I got dressed and walked out of my room. Glow was sitting at the table eating breakfast with Borax. As I sat down, Glow said, "Today are the interviews with Filo Flickerman." A knot twisted in my stomach. I had forgotten about the interviews. I was not a good public speaker, and this would be talking in front of thousands and thousands of people. Glow noticed that I had gone pale and offered me oats and honey. I ate slowly, thinking about what Filo would ask me..  
Later I was whisked away to my stylist Venta. I wasn't very happy seeing him again, and by his facial expression, I could tell the feeling was mutual. Venta wanted to make me as attractive as possible today, so he put me in an ice blue, high-low dress that had fluffy ruffles. It was ornamented with small diamonds. My hair was down in curls and my face had dramatic make-up. When I looked in the mirror I saw someone that was not me. The girl in the mirror was feminine, beautiful, yet dangerous. Venta led me to an airship that would take us to be interviewed in front of thousands of people.  
Peacekeepers led us to wait in a line to be interviewed. Borax was first. He walked across the stage to greet Filo Flickerman. Sparkle told me that we would need a sort of character. We needed to play up what our main personality trait would be. Borax was cocky and clever. Sparkle said I was fierce and cunning, but feminine too.  
Borax and Filo chatted for a while. They talked about little things and what his family life was like. After a few minutes Filo said Borax's name again and he left the stage. It was my turn next. Filo introduced me and I put on my best smile and walked across the stage. The lights were intensely bright, the crowd roared and there was a buzz in my ears. Filo welcomed me to the stage and shook my hand. He took a seat and so did I. He faced me and smiled brightly.  
"Amethyst! How do you like the capital so far?" He asked. I grinned and said, "It's lovely and bright, but my favorite part is the people. They're so colorful and interesting!" I over-exaggerated that part, but the people did fascinate me to some point. This statement was met with a wooping round of applause. Once it died down he said, "Yes, yes, the people are very pretty! Now, do you think you're ready for the games?" I contemplated for a moment before saying, "Yes, I do think I'm ready. I'm not afraid, and I have something to fight for." Filo nodded. He turned to me and asked, "And what is it that you're fighting for, Amethyst?"  
"My father, my sister Amber, my brother Micah, my best friend Corduroy, and also for my mother." The crowd could tell that there was a little more meaning behind the word 'mother'. So could Filo.  
"Do you think your mother is watching you from home right now?" He asked. I looked away and said, "No, she's not with us anymore. She was tak- I mean, she died when I was 12." Filo could tell that the subject of my mother wasn't going to lead to something good, so he changed topics.  
"Well, if she were here I bet she would be proud to see that her little girl is so stunningly beautiful! Isn't that right, folks?" Filo asked the crowd. The crowd shook and cheered in response. I could feel my cheeks getting red.  
"So Amethyst, do you have a lad back home?" I blushed even redder and told him 'no'. Filo laughed kindly at how red my face was. The interview timer went off and my turn was over. I said goodbye and exited the stage. I sat and watched backstage as the rest of the tributes were interviewed. After Ariel was interviewed I started dozing off, and then next thing I knew, I was in my bed in the apartment. I fell back into a restless sleep..


	7. Let the Games Begin

Today is the day. Today is when it all starts. I slink out of my bed and into the bathroom. I hop into the shower and just stand there for a good thirty minutes. After I get out of the shower I go to the dining room where Glow, Borax, Sparkle, and Tyro are waiting for me. Glow smiles and says, "Today is the big day, Amethyst! Are you ready?" I shrugged and replied, "Sure, I guess so." Glow's smile dimmed. I sat down and ate as much as I could. When Borax and I had finished breakfast, we were led down to a room where our prep teams dressed us in our arena clothes. We were dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and khaki colored cargo pants that could turn into shorts. They put my hair in an elaborate braid. Then peacekeepers took us to an airship that would take us to the arena. I could hardly wait..  
I was taken through a series of underground tunnels, and after about five minutes of walking we arrived in a small, gray room. There was a single tube that led up to the ceiling in the center of the room. The rest of the it was bare except for a countdown clock. Then Venta came in and the peacekeepers left, closing the door. Venta didn't say anything, but he helped me into the narrow tube. Two minutes were left on the countdown clock. Venta looked at me and said, "Good luck." I think he actually meant it. The tube closed around me and the platform I was standing on slowly started to rise. As I rose up I could hear a loud voice counting down from 60. The platform was raised up to the ground level now, and I could see the arena.  
Fifty feet in front of me, the cornucopia gleamed gold in the sunlight. Directly to the right of it was a grand waterfall that was at least 100 feet high. The top part of the waterfall was hidden behind vines and tall green trunks. Behind the cornucopia was a forest of trees, but not the kind of trees I knew. It was a jungle with thick vines and green vegetation. The ground in front of me was grass, but it looked almost like carpet. Various small weapons were placed ten feet in front of me. Then at the twenty-foot line there were better quality weapons, and they got better and better the closer you were to the cornucopia. I focused on a particularly sharp looking set of knives directly in front of me, about 20 feet away. My plan was to get some sort of weapon and kill as many as possible, and then go to the cornucopia and stay there.  
The clock counted down from 20 now. I looked around to see where my allies were. Alexandria and Axel were to my right and Adrian and Ariel were further down the line to my right. They looked at me and nodded. The countdown was at 10.  
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.  
I dashed from my plate and ran as fast as I could to the set of knives. I picked them up quickly as well as a bow and arrow and a machete. The girl from District 9 was right in front of me, she stumbled and fell as she tried to grab a knife and a backpack. I threw one of my knives and it hit her right in the heart. I ran and pulled it from the dead girl and found another target. The boy from District 5 was running toward the jungle, looking back frantically. Then he saw me running toward him and he screeched. He tripped just as my knife flew past the spot where his head had been seconds before. I took my machete and rammed it into his chest. He coughed and sputtered up blood as I pulled the weapon from his chest.  
"Amethyst! Watch out!" Adrian shouted. I whipped around to see the boy from District 9 dashing toward me with a scythe. _Where did he get a scythe?_ I thought. But then the boy was right in front of me and he swung the scythe at me and I barely had time to parry it. I got my machete and cut scythe blade from the rest of the weapon. Now he had nothing but a useless stick. I smiled at him. He stumbled backward but it was already too late. His head was rolling on the ground next to his body. I could see most of the tributes were running to the jungle by now. I ran over to the cornucopia to help Adrian, who was being attacked by the two from District 12 and the girl from District 10. I came up behind them and threw my knife at the girl from 10. She fell instantly. The two from 12 looked to see who had thrown the knife and suddenly fled. I threw my knife at the boy as they were running away. It hit him in his calf and he fell to the ground. The girl half-carried half-dragged him into the jungle.  
There weren't any tributes left out in the open except for the careers. "Anyone hurt?" I asked the group. They all shook their heads. "I'll gather up the supplies." I told them. They nodded and I walked out and collected all the various weapons and things. After I was done I walked over to Adrian. "Who all is dead, do you know?" I asked him. He replied, "The ones we know to be dead are the two from 6, Pine from 7, the girl from 10, the boy from 8, and Orion from 3." I nodded and said, "Plus the two from 9 and the boy from 5. So that's eight in total." I smiled at him and he returned it. For the rest of the day we went over the inventory. There were 6 backpacks with bottled water and bug repellent in them. Two other backpacks had dried meat, water, bug repellent, and water purification tabs. Two more bags had just water in them. Seventeen knives were found, each a different length. There were also spears and different weapons I had no name for. In the cornucopia there was food. Lots and lots of food. There was everything from apples to dried meat to pudding and who knew what else. I sat down on a crate of apples and cleaned my knives. Adrian came and sat next to me, sharpening a spear. "I think we should send someone out into the jungle to see what's in there, and maybe find a tribute or two," Ariel stated as she smiled maliciously. "I'll stay and stand guard over the cornucopia." She added. Axel picked up a spear and a set of knives. He put the set of knives on a belt around his waist. "I'll go too," Alexandria stood up and grabbed the same weapons as Axel. "If we're not back in two hours, we might be dead. But most likely we'll be back." Axel grunted. The two of them walked to the jungle's edge and disappeared as they entered the strange trees..  
About an hour later, I heard crashing coming from the jungle. I stood up immediately, alert and loaded with my knives. Adrian stood too, and Ariel merely looked up from staring at her reflection in the pool of the waterfall. Then, Axel and Alexandria stumbled and crashed out of the jungle. I could see that Alexandria was wounded, her leg was bleeding madly and Axel tried to help her run. I looked behind them, but nothing was pursuing them. As they neared the cornucopia, they both collapsed in a heap on the ground. "White- apes -claws," Axel panted. I grabbed some medical equipment from the cornucopia and approached Alexandria. She sat up and pulled her leg around. The wound was even worse than I thought. On the side of her right leg, a nine inch gash was openly bleeding and the flesh around it was turning a pale green and was hanging off at some parts. I tried not to vomit as I helped her clean and dress the wound. The gash was bound with gauze and fabric, but the blood had already soaked through. I turned to Axel and asked him if he had gotten injured as well. "No, just scratched from branches and vines." He gasped at me. Then he laid down in the grass and closed his eyes. I turned to Adrian and saw that he had concern on his face. He sat down next to Axel and asked him about the attack. I turned around to get some food for the both of them from the cornucopia and noticed that Ariel had still been sitting at the edge of the water, admiring herself this whole time. I rolled my eyes and brought Axel and Alexandria some food.  
Nothing else happened for the rest of the day. We sat around the cornucopia and I occasionally redid Alexandria's bandages. Adrian and I passed the time by throwing apples back and forth between each other. Ariel continued to stay by the water and every now and then get up and eat something. Axel and Alexandria were dozing off. When the sun went down, the capitol's emblem shone bright in the sky. The fallen tributes appeared one by one and then the sky went dark again. "I think some of us should get some sleep. I'll keep watch for a while." I told the group. Axel and Alexandria nodded and they both crawled into the cornucopia and laid down. "I'll keep watch with you." Adrian said. I nodded and pulled a crate of apples to the mouth of the cornucopia. Adrian did the same. For a while we said nothing, but after I heard Axel and Alexandria snoring, I spoke," So what did Axel say about the attack?" Adrian turned to me and said," They had been walking around for about 30 minutes when they heard a noise far away. He said it sounded like branches being snapped, and Alexandria wanted to turn back. Axel said that they would be fine because it was far away," He paused and looked into the jungle, but quickly turned back. "He said they had been walking for another 5 minutes when they heard another noise, only a lot closer. He said it sounded like a stampede so they started jogging back. The noise was getting louder and louder and then Alexandria tripped. Then he said he saw these massive white apes or gorillas or something thundering down the path towards them and he practically dragged Alexandria up and forward. The apes were quick though and just before they got out of the jungle, one of them lunged and managed to scrape Alexandria with its claws." I turned back to look at Alexandria. Her wound wouldn't stop bleeding at all today, and the green color was still there. I turned back around and gazed at the waterfall. Then I realized I hadn't seen Ariel since the sun went down. "Adrian, do you know where Ariel is?" I ask him. Adrian realises too that she hadn't been seen in a while. He started looking around and calling for her. I did the same. I checked behind the cornucopia but found nothing then went back around to the cornucopia's opening. "There's no sign of her anywhere." Adrian reported to me. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of struggle or anything. She's just... gone." He said. I grew uneasy and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned on the spot and examined the edge of the jungle. "I think we should probably look for her in the morning, this place creeps me out and I wouldn't want to go into the jungle at night." I said. Adrian agreed and we went back to sitting on the crates. In a few hours Axel woke and offered to keep watch. He waved off our offer of another one of us keeping watch, insisting that he could do it himself. We informed him that Ariel was missing and of our plan to search for her in the morning. He grunted an understanding an slumped down on the crate. I sat against a barrel and Adrian sat next to me. I dozed off immediately.


End file.
